So, for my final two destinations in the Kansai region, I will now talk about my journey in Nara and Kobe.
Nara
Nara is famous for its wild deer that roam around the area.
The special thing about the wild deer here is that they bow to you before give food to them. However, it would seem that some of the deer were impolite when I was there, as they didn’t bow before getting food. Keep in mind, if they see you have food and you don’t give it to them, yet it is within arm’s reach, they will attack you in a group. Even though they get a bit aggressive over food, they are still kind and gentle and won’t harm you.
The first place I went to in Nara was the famous Buddhist temple Todaiji. Here is the main entrance to the temple. If you couldn’t tell by the pictures, it was very hot.
A little island to our right on the lake.
Here is the second entrance. Past this point you actually have to pay to get into the main temple, but while my sister and my mother decided to stay back, my father and I went into the temple.
A picture of the main temple.
Buddha statues inside the temple. Although, I’m not sure the third and fourth statues are Buddhas.
Even lotus petals that are carved from metal and have patterns inscribed on it.
View from outside the temple.
Kasuga Taisha Shrine (春日大社)
So, the next destination we went to was the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Apparently, this whole area is called Nara Koen Park, which means the whole area is a natural park with many temples and shrine. At first, I only though the noteworthy site here was the Todaiji temple. However, it would seem that I’m wrong, and there are indeed many sites around the area. Plus, there is a bus service that goes from site to site so it’s convenient as well.
Going into the shrine.
There are actually lights along the path that can be light up through fire, and some of them have candles that can actually be light up. I remember seeing these in some anime. Hmm… I think it was probably Hotarubi no Mori e.
Going into the main shrine. For some reason I really like the orange colour of the shrine and temples in Japan. Usually they are brown of just wood colour, but I find the ones with the orange colour to be most attractive and welcoming. It doesn’t feel like any “boring old” temple.
The left side of the gate with lanterns.
Walking around the forest path of the shrine. And that concludes my trip in Nara. It was a great experience being in the forest park and seeing the temples and shrines. The second shrine was definitely better than the first one because it wasn’t as crowded or as hot as the first one and you can walk peacefully in this one. So, let’s go to Kobe now.
Kobe
So, this was one of the places that I really wanted to go to. And that was to see the 1/1 scale Tetsujin 28-go from the anime of the same name from the 1960’s. It was one of the earliest mecha anime, and influenced many super robot anime and mecha in general to come.
So, here’s the 1/1 scale 18m tall Tetsujin 28-go robot. Seeing the Tetsujin robot in real life was quite an experience and it was fun comparing it to the nearby buildings and seeing how small they look in comparison. My trip to Kobe to see one of the first mecha was worth it. It was just so big and made of metal. If I ever get the chance, I would like to go to Odaiba in Tokyo to see the 1/1 scale Gundam. But now, I’ll let you enjoy the giant robot.
In the evening, when we came back, there was a beer festival going on under the Tetsujin.
Heading to Kobe harbor.
Walking around the harbor.
Standing on a bridge.
I think this was a museum, but it was closed when we got there.
The final picture I took before we left for dinner.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant serving beef dishes. It’s not Kobe beef, which is expensive, but it’s good enough. We had some grilled beef and beef stew. The beef in the stew was soft and the gravy had a strong flavor. However, the grilled beef was a little too hard and chewy, so it wasn’t as good but it was still tasty. It was a nice meal overall. So, that’s the end of my trip in Kobe and Nara. I had a lot of fun during the trip and had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The final destination of our trip will be Hakone, almost all the way to Tokyo. So, I’ll see you there, and bye bye for now.
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